According to him, significant changes are planned for 2025 aimed at reducing the tax burden and increasing tax benefits for key sectors of the economy. Priority areas will include agriculture, the IT sector, renewable energy, as well as the textile and jewelry industries, alongside important social initiatives, including support for sports.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises will have the opportunity to choose the optimal tax regime — general, single tax, or patent. This innovation will allow businesses to align their tax obligations with the actual scale of their activities, while the state will be able to form a stable and growing tax base. Tax rates in Kyrgyzstan remain among the lowest in the post-Soviet space, which becomes a strategic competitive advantage in attracting investments and human capital,” emphasized Shykmamatov.
The head of the Tax Service also noted that a crucial part of the reforms in 2025 will be a deep restructuring of tax administration.
“We have consciously abandoned the practice of excessive checks and pressure on businesses, realizing that fear cannot be a sustainable source of budget revenue. We have completely eliminated on-site inspections by employees of the central office of the Tax Service, which has helped minimize corruption risks,” he added.
Approaches to appointing and conducting inspections on the ground have also been revised, and a control and coordination system has been created, focused not on the number of inspections but on their justification and quality, the head of the Tax Service believes.
Simplifying tax administration has become an important step for businesses and citizens.
Since the beginning of this year, the mandatory use of electronic waybills for most goods has been canceled, a moratorium on control purchases and raid tax inspections in markets has been introduced, and general tax declarations for individuals who are not individual entrepreneurs and mandatory “zero” reports have been abolished.
“These measures have freed up time and resources for businesses, which should contribute to economic development. The policy of legalizing economic activities, which allows for the legalization of goods without penalties until April 1, 2025, and the write-off of tax debts from previous periods, sends a signal: the state prefers to create conditions for honest work rather than punish for past mistakes. This has allowed thousands of entrepreneurs to start from scratch and restore trust in the tax system,” added Shykmamatov.
The transformation of taxation for markets and shopping centers has also taken an important place in the reform.
The return of the patent system, exemption from the mandatory use of cash registers, an increase in the annual revenue threshold to 50 million soms, and the introduction of reduced rates for the jewelry industry have resulted from dialogue with entrepreneurs rather than cabinet decisions.
“The pilot project in the markets ‘Dordoy’, ‘Kara-Suu’, and ‘Madina’, where the administrations act as tax agents, has demonstrated that eliminating the human factor and direct contacts significantly reduces the risks of abuse and increases discipline,” noted the chairman of the Tax Service.
Digitalization has become the cornerstone of all reforms.
“In 2025, tax administration will significantly transition to remote formats. We have expanded the functionality of the ‘Taxpayer Cabinet’, implemented automated tax risk management systems, and launched a pilot project for fiscal software with data transmission. The integration of accounting systems for public catering enterprises with the Tax Service's information system has already led to an increase in average daily revenue and a reduction in shadow turnover,” noted Alambet Shykmamatov.
The modernization of the electronic invoice system and the implementation of the ‘Salyk Kyzut’ module, which will allow tracking the movement of goods throughout the chain — from import or production to the final consumer — is also ongoing.
“These are not just technological innovations. This is a transition to a system where the rules are the same for everyone and operate automatically, which significantly simplifies control. The results of tax reforms organically fit into the overall macroeconomic dynamics. According to the National Statistical Committee, last year the GDP volume reached almost 2 billion soms, which is 11 percent more than in the previous period. For the first time in a long time, the growth of the economy and tax revenues has shown such clear consistency, confirming that tax reform has become a driver of development rather than an obstacle,” concluded the head of the Tax Service.
